


Follow me ever - desert me not while I live

by syredronning



Series: bridge2sickbay [36]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22071439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syredronning/pseuds/syredronning
Summary: The cave is dark and cold, every small breath a condensing fog. They're alone, apart from their group. The mission fuck-up isn't their fault, just fate. Fat luck.
Relationships: James T. Kirk & Christopher Pike
Series: bridge2sickbay [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542673
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Follow me ever - desert me not while I live

**Author's Note:**

> Challenge drabble written for bridge2sickbay in 2009, rescued from Livejournal. All errors are mine.

The cave is dark and cold, every small breath a condensing fog. They're alone, apart from their group. The mission fuck-up isn't their fault, just fate. Fat luck.

It doesn't help Pike wondering what he'd done wrong, what he could've done differently.

"Wish we'd had more information on the people," Kirk whispers at his side. Pike pulls him a little closer, trying to keep the man warm.

"We knew everything the Federation knows. Including some classified details that Nogura sent my way with the briefing." There is warmth under his fingers but it's the wrong kind, too fucking wet. He doesn't need to look in the tiny light of their remaining tricorder to know that it is blood seeping through the makeshift bandage at Kirk's side.

_Fucking idiot could've told me a little earlier, instead of running around with an open wound for three hours._

"That's the challenge about diplomatic missions, you never really know what you're into."

"Don't lecture me, Admiral," Kirk mutters.

"I'd never do that," Pike states amused. _Fat lie._

He brushes through the blond hair, feeling the clammy forehead. In a quick decision, he unlaces himself from the embrace and strips out of his uniform jacket. The onslaught of the cold is harsh enough to numb his skin.

Kirk tries to push the offered garment away. "You'll freeze to death."

"I'll manage." Pike grits his teeth together and uses the uniform as an additional cover for the captain, then takes him back into the embrace. "I've been in worse places."

"Couldn't have been many."

"Too many." _Any place where you'd die apart from friends is a worse place._

Which makes this place here rather okay, in Pike's opinion.

"We should get out of here. They won't be able to find us here."

"It's planet's night out there. Minus 70 degree Celsius. There's got to be some hot fountain nearby, this cave is a lot warmer than it should be."

"Remind me not to accept missions to ice planets anymore," Kirk murmurs. They sit in silence for a while.

It's when Kirk's body goes from trembling to slacking when Pike gets really nervous. "Don't you die on me, Kirk," he says and shakes the man a little. "Spent too much time and effort on you." His frozen lips hurt with every word.

The answer is more a long-drawn sigh than a word. "Yeah…" Then Kirk seems to get his act together for a moment, because he adds a few minutes later, "Get out of here and try to find them."

"I'm not going anywhere," Pike states.

"It's illogical."

"Taking notes from Spock?"

"Many." There's a brief, brittle laughter. "It's no use waiting here for death. Or are you keen on dying? I'm not. Let's get the hell out of here."

"Then go," Pike says.

"Not without you."

"I can't."

"You haven't been shot – have you?"

"I ran out of meds. Together with the cold… no walking out of here for me, Kirk."

_Should've told you before, Jim, but I really don't want to die alone._

There's a long pause. "Then I guess we've got to sit it out together." There's a hand finding his in the dark, and Pike tries to take it, but his fingers don't really obey anymore. "They'll come, you know. They always do."

"Yeah. Fucking best crew in the quadrant."

There's some movement, and then Pike feels his uniform jacket moved back to him.

"It's yours, sir."

_Going down in style. Starfleet's best._

Pike smiles, frozen wetness painfully breaking from his skin with the movement. "Let's sleep, Jim," he says. "Tomorrow, all will be well."

"Yes." Kirk curls deeper into his stiff embrace. "Glad you're here."

"Yeah." He places an awkward kiss on Kirk's forehead. "Nite, Jim."

There's no answer but Pike is still smiling as he drifts into the dark, his head resting on Kirk's.


End file.
